Ghost Girl
by Selene Airay
Summary: At the end of TUE Clockwork described time as a parade. What in one of those turns the Fentons not only had Ellie, a second daughter, instead of Danny? How will everyone's favorite half ghost not only being a girl but becoming a halfa two years later than canon change things? Ellie/Clockwork
1. Prologue

Summary: At the end of 'Ultimate Enemy', Clockwork described time as a parade, and explained to Danny that he could see all the turns time might or might not take. What if instead of a boy, Danny Fenton, the Fentons had a second girl, Ellie Fenton? How would the events depicted in the show Danny Phantom be different? Ellie/Clockwork

Warning: fem!Danny/gender-bender, violence, light language, manipulation of canon and the timeline

Disclaimer: The cartoon Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon.

**Prologue:**

**From Human to Halfa**

"Ellie, Jazz, get down here!" Maddie Fenton called, "We want to show you our latest invention."

Being the younger sister, Ellie looked at Jazz, intending to wait. Jazz, however, made it clear that she had no intention of moving.

"You go ahead, Ellie." Jazz said without looking up from her book, "Tell Mom and Dad to start without me."

"Lucky." Ellie muttered, "All Jazz has to do to avoid Mom and Dad's crazy inventions is read because they assume she's studying."

It wasn't that sixteen year old Ellie Fenton minded having full time ghost hunters for parents. (Most of the time, that is.) Even though they'd never caught or seen a single ghost. They took a long time to prepare and get to apparent scenes, Ellie knew that it was possible that any real ghosts involved were just long gone by the time Jack and Maddie Fenton arrived. No, it was their inventions and the weird name her dad gave them that she didn't like. A lifetime of metal contraptions exploding, sending goo everywhere, or wrecking the house would do that to any teen.

"You're just in time, Ellie!" Jack Fenton said, "Your mom and I are about to start up or ghost portal!"

"Your what now?" Ellie asked, as was paying more attention to the suspiciously electric chord in her father's hands than what he'd said.

"Ghost portal." Maddie elaborated, "It's a doorway to the Ghost Zone, the dimension ghosts live in."

Now curious, Ellie's eyes followed the giant chord her father was holding to a really big metal contraption her parents had built into the wall. Ellie paled at the sight, remembering that device all too well. The adult Fentons had tried it already when she was fourteen. That version had been even bigger and reminded Ellie of the intergalactic gateways from the TV show Stargate. The resulting explosion from the power overload almost destroyed the whole house. It had taken half a year to finish remodeling the basement, and Jazz and Ellie had watched as their parents took a further six months to set up a new lab. Jazz still wondered how Jack and Maddie came out of it unscathed.

"I thought that it took too much electricity?" Ellie pointed out.

Maddie just waved off the concern. "Oh, we took care of that problem. Right, Jack?"

Jack, however, only acted like he never heard either of them, or else only heard what he wanted to. "Ready, Maddie. Banzai!"

"Jack, wait-" but Maddie was too late, he had already connected the big chord.

Ellie had just closed her eyes with a flinch. Only to open them after a late in surprise when nothing happened. Her parents were looking at the portal with hope in their eyes. After a few minutes of downcast faces, both adults gained downcast faces.

"I was so sure it would work." Jack said, sounding awfully close to a disappointed child.

Maddie was little better. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Come on, hun. I'll make you some fudge."

The looks on her parents' faces as they left the lab was upsetting. But Ellie was more concerned with a disconcerting oddity than her upset parents. Nothing could keep Jack or Maddie Fenton down for long anyway, Ellie knew. A couple of minutes later her best friends, Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley, came down and found Ellie still staring at the portal.

"Ellie, is something wrong?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you parents look pretty down." Tucker agreed.

"Oh, hey guys. Ellie greeted, "It's odd. My parents' inventions never just do nothing. If they don't work they usually cause a mess or go crazy."

Sam and Tucker finally saw what Ellie was looking at. Sam didn't see the big deal, and just raised an eyebrow. Tucker, however, recognized it like Ellie had and made the fact known.

"Isn't that the thing that completely totaled the lab two years ago?" he asked.

"You got it." Ellie confirmed.

"You mean from the time you wanted to stay at my house for a month?" Sam realized, "What is it even for?"

"It's called a ghost portal, according to my parents." Ellie told her friends, "It's supposed to be a way to where ghosts live, the Ghost Zone or something."

Sam and Tucker exchanged a look. Jack and Maddie Fenton were both so obsessed with ghosts that something like seeing the place they call home was bound to be their dream. Ellie had never liked her family or friends being upset. She often went to great lengths to cheer them up if they were especially blue. It was no wonder that she was still down there.

"You can always go in there and check it out." Sam suggested, "Maybe you can figure out what's wrong and fix it for your parents."

"I don't know, Sam…" Ellie protested, clearly tempted but still hesitant.

Tucker went over to a cabinet and pulled out a white outfit dispersed with green that came with a black belt, black boots, and black gloves. "If you're worried, you can just wear this over your clothes. It's basically a hazard suit anyway right?"

"Hey, that's actually a good idea. Thanks, Tuck." Ellie said, taking the clothing from her friend.

A minute later Ellie had the suit on. And Sam had removed a sticker of her dad's face for her, which Ellie was grateful for. Ellie went inside the portal. She tripped on a cord, only for the hand she used to catch herself on the device's wall to press a green button. The portal turned on with a surge of electricity and ectoplasm, and Ellie found herself in immense pain as she was shocked. She blacked out as her friends shouted her name in alarm.

'I wanted my parents happy, not an early death.' Was Ellie's last thought before she knew no more.

**End of Chapter**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

**The Beginnings of a Heroine**

The minute the doorbell rang, Ellie was enthusiastically opening the door. In the doorway stood her two best and only friends. On the left was a girl wearing all black. Her name was Sam, and on top of being a Goth she was what amounted to a vegan in Ellie's opinion. The boy, Tucker, wore a yellow shirt, jeans, and a red hat. He was holding his ever present PDA, and was African American.

"Hi Sam, HI Tucker. Ready for move night?" Ellie asked cheerfully.

"Yup!" Sam confirmed.

"You know it!" Tucker agreed, "My cousin forgot one of her movies last time my relatives visited and my mom let me bring it."

"Sweet! Is it one we haven't seen?" Ellie asked.

Around an hour and a half later, the three teens had taken over the living room. The table was covered with snack, drinks, and three boxes of pizza. The trio each had their own bowl of popcorn in their lap. The movie hadn't been on long when Jack Fenton, Ellie's father, walked in.

"Hey kids! What are you watching?" Jack asked.

"Corpse Bride." Ellie answered absently, not taking her eyes off the screen.

Just then a scene on the television caught Jack's eye. "A movie about ghosts! Cool!"

"Sort of-" Tucker tried to explain that that wasn't quite right.

Only for Jack to interrupt him. "If you kids are interested in ghosts, you must want to be ghost hunters!"

Ellie paled while Sam and Tucker exchanged a worried look. All three tried to deny the wild and inaccurate claim. But fixated on his assumption, Jack didn't hear them and somehow managed to drag them all away from the movie. Before the teens knew it they found themselves sitting in foldable chairs in the lab. Jack wasn't even completely facing them.

"So you kids want to be ghost hunters." Jack said.

"Uh Dad, I want to be an astronaut." Ellie reminded the man.

"Sorry Mr. Fenton," Sam said, "I used to be into ghosts but they're so mainstream now. They're like cell phones."

"Waste these looks and charms on ghost hunting? Criminal!" Tucker claimed.

Jack just faced away from them completely and simultaneously went into a lecture on things he thought they'd need to know if they changed their minds and fiddled with one of his less successful inventions. In his enthusiasm Jack never once noticed that he was making the teens nervous now. No one from Ellie's family knew, but Ellie Fenton hadn't been normal for a month now. She hadn't been hurt when she had her accident. But she _had_ come away from it different. It wasn't even the almost normal 'teen is hit hard with the reality that they can, in fact, get hurt or even die' different.

Just then, two flying green octopi came out of the Ghost Portal Ellie's parents had built. They grabbed Sam and Tucker. Two rings of energy engulfed Ellie, and when they were gone she looked different. Her formerly black hair was white, and her normally blue eyes had turned a glowing green. She was wearing the same hazard suit like outfit she had been when she had the accident, only the black and white had switched. A brawl that made Ellie glad her mother had made her take martial arts in elementary school then ensued as the teen rescued her friends. When it was over Ellie was exhausted and Sam and Tucker were shaking, nervous wrecks from the shock. Jack Fenton actually noticed, but he thought they were excited about ghost hunting and launched into another lecture.

That Monday, the morning was no better for Ellie than what could have happened the when the ghost octopi showed up. Maddie Fenton, Ellie's mother, was working on an invention _at the breakfast table_ of all places, and Jazz, Ellie's older sister was using one of her books to block the sparks from the torch the woman was using. Ellie herself was half asleep as she usually was early in the morning, and glum at the fact that she was half ghost when her parents were ghost hunters. Ellie even acted like she either didn't notice the sparks, or simply didn't care about them. Ellie didn't even notice that her hand had gone intangible and made her spoonful of cereal fall back into the bowl until her mouth met nothing but air.

"Two more welds and… it's done!" Maddie announced.

Jack was there in a flash. "It's done? The Fenton Finder is done?!"

Ellie got very worried when Jack said that it tracks ghosts. Then to Ellie's horror, the device announced that a ghost was nearby. She took a few steps back. True to the teen's concern, it led her parents right to her. Sure that it wasn't correct, the adult Fentons were pondering what went wrong and didn't notice Ellie go invisible for a moment from her nervousness. Right when Ellie was about to admit to the consequences of the accident, Jazz stepped in. The adults received a lecture from the eighteen year old about how Ellie needed responsible adults to guide her. Ellie wasn't sure if she missed the wasted chance or was grateful to her older sister. When Jazz drove her to school for once, Ellie decided it didn't matter. Both their parents were lousy drivers and the school was far enough away to make walking a pain.

As Ellie, Sam, and Tucker walked to class, the half ghost teen told her friends about her dilemma. Sam then said that it was a bad idea, stating that parents didn't listen. Then the Goth diverted into complaining about her own parents' lack of acceptance of who she was. She was sheepish when Ellie pointed out that the Goth's parents weren't the issue.

"It's been a month and I still have trouble controlling my powers." Ellie complained, "If I get caught I'll switch from geek to freak."

"Like you're doing now?" Tucker asked, pointing out that Ellie was phasing through the floor.

"Yikes!" Ellie yelped as they helped her up, "I just wish that either I could figure out what to _do_ with my powers, or that my dad would invent something I can use to get rid of them."

"Don't worry about it, Ellie! Being unique is good!" Sam assured.

Sam and Tucker then learned the particulars of each other's diets. Sam went to extremes to not eat anything meat related or even dairy. She called herself an ultra-recyclo vegetarian, and Tucker only understood when Ellie explained that her diet was similar to that of a vegan. Tucker, on the other hand, only avoided vegetables but ate meat in amounts only carnivores could surpass. He even claimed that it heightened his senses, accurately guessing what Ellie had for dinner the night before. He called himself a 'meat connoisseur'.

"My meat streak is fourteen years strong!" Tucker finished proudly.

"And it's about to end." Sam cut in smugly.

The Goth revealed that she had talked the school board into changing the menu. Tucker freaked when he and Ellie found out that there was absolutely no meat. Lunch that day was literally grass on bread. Right when Ellie was about to point out that a total no meat whatsoever revamp of the menu instead of making some vegetarian and vegan friendly additions was extreme, their English teacher and the faculty member who was left with the duties of the nonexistent vice principal, Mr. Lancer, walked up.

"Ah, Miss Manson." he said, "The school board wanted me to personally thank you for ushering in this welcome new experiment to our cafeteria.

Sam looked proud at the praise. He started to walk away, his errand done. Ellie thought it was odd and a little random. Tucker, on the other hand, was freaking out because he had caught the scent of meat coming from Mr. Lancer. This caused the teacher to make a denial that inadvertently inform them that the budget change was providing the teacher's lounge with an all steak buffet. The one thing Ellie and Tucker agreed on was that that day's entrée was garbage rather than food.

Then, Ellie's ghost sense went off. Before she could investigate though, she got hit by mud. This was quickly followed by the arrival of an angry jock, a bully by the name of Dash. He complained that he got literal mud pies. And he blamed it on Ellie. He put a plate of mud in front of Ellie.

"Eat it! All off it!" Dash demanded.

Ellie noticed the ghost. It was an older woman dressed like a cafeteria worker, only her clothes were pink.

"Or what? Bullying a girl will only make you look a coward or a heartless brute." Ellie refuted, not about to eat dirt.

Before Dash could retaliate, Tucker started a garbage fight. Dash, being a bully and an idiot, promised to get even with Ellie. She ignored it in favor of finding out what the ghost was up to. At first, it looked like there would be no trouble. The ghost just asked for help, wondering where the meatloaf that should have been that day's lunch was.

"Did someone change the menu?" The Lunch Lady ghost asked.

"Yeah. She did." Tucker replied, pointing at Sam.

The Lunch Lady went ballistic.

"I'm going ghost!" Ellie said, and then once she was in ghost mode she flew up to the ghost. "Could you please leave quietly? We don't want trouble."

Ellie only ended up attacked by dishes. Then the Lunch Lady claimed that lunch was sacred and had rules. She offered cake, but when Sam and Tucker nodded she said that kids who mess with her menu didn't get dessert. Then she brought the ovens to life and tried to fry them. That ghost certainly gave the term 'mood swings' a whole new meaning.

"It worked! I think I'm finally getting the hang of this." Ellie exclaimed in joy when she succeeded in phasing through the walls with her friends.

"This is the thanks I get for thinking like an individual?!" Sam seethed.

Then the lights went crazy and the contents of the lockers flew to the Lunch Lady, who was now in the hallway with the three teens. Tuckers' nose picked up steak moments before the trio saw a bunch of meat also flying towards the Lunch Lady. It covered the angry ghost, making her look like a meat monster.

"Where did it come from?" Tucker wondered, preoccupied with the presence of meat, then it hit him. "Lancer!"

Then, Ellie found herself protecting her Goth friend from getting hurt or killed. But before she could go on the offensive, she turned back into a human without meaning to. Lunch Lady then grabbed Sam and flew off. Tucker immediately panicked.

"Change back, we gotta go!" Tucker said.

Then the two were picked up by the back of their shirts by Lancer. "You two arent' going anywhere."

"Told you you'd pay, Fenton." Dash said.

A few minutes later found them in Mr. Lancer's office. He was very mad about the garbage fight. The first thing he did was list Ellie and Tucker's offenses. (All Ellie had was an inability to not blow something up when attempting an experiment in chemistry class labs. She was, as a result, banned for life from that classroom.)

"I'll only attend detention for my punishment without complaint on one condition, Mr. Lancer." Ellie said in reply, "Otherwise I'm even willing to transfer to a boarding school if it's the only way to get out of Casper High."

"Oh? And what would that be, Miss Fenton?" Mr. Lancer asked, unamused, "You are hardly in a position to make demands."

"Dash has been bullying every kid that's not rich, a jock, or a cheerleader since Jr. High!" Ellie complained, "If you punish us you have to punish him too or you're in no position to condemn our actions! I've got bruises shaped like his hand that even have his fingerprints to prove it."

To emphasize her point, Ellie pushed up her shirt sleeve. Then she informed Mr. Lancer that she'd missed class yesterday only because Dash shoved her into her own locker. As someone who hadn't been popular himself, bullying was the one action Mr. Lancer _never_ condone from _anyone_. Angry at the revelation, the teacher gave Dash a sharp look. The jock gulped, scared because it had never been him in trouble. Dash glared at Ellie.

"You're dead, Fentina!" the jock exclaimed, then, remembering Mr. Lancer was there, tried to change his tune, "I-I mean, she's obviously lying, Mr. Lancer! She's crazy, just like her lame parents!"

"Why you! I can take being labeled a loser, I don't _care_. But you took it too far, Baxter!" Ellie exploded, "I may not have believed in ghosts until recently myself, and I'll be the first to admit that my parents are odd, but they _not_ crazy!"

"Enough!" Lancer demanded, cutting in before a fist fight ensued, "Mr. Foley, Miss Fenton, I'll give you your punishment later. I need to do something about this apparent problem child."

Dash tried to protest. "But Mr. Lancer-"

"I said enough, Dash!" Lancer said as he dragged the blonde off, "Do you have any idea how disappointed your mother will be?"

Once the door was closed, the two friends stood up.

"We've gotta find Sam!" Tucker exclaimed worriedly, then added in confusion, "for some reason, I feel like I got her kidnapped."

"You think?" Ellie replied sarcastically, "After all, _you_ told the ghost that she changed the menu."

Then, Tucker noticed that she could still smell the meat the Lunch Lady took in the building. Looking at the security cameras in the room, Ellie noticed a trail of meat in the cafeteria's giant freezer of a storage room. When they got there, Tucker went gaga over meat of all things and hugged a box of it. It made Ellie wonder absently why she was able to stand watching him eat.

"My parents hunt ghosts for a living and I'm half ghost." Ellie commented, "So how is it that _you're_ the weird one?"

Then, a laugh helped them find the ghost and their MIA friend. The Lunch Lady had Sam trapped up to her neck in a big pile of meat. The ghost was trying to get said Goth to eat some meat with no success whatsoever. And Sam's refusal had made the Lunch Lady mad. An angry ghost, Ellie had been learning, was a dangerous ghost. She knew she had to move quickly to save her friend.

"I can handle the ghost, Tucker. You just help Sam." Ellie said.

In response, Tucker took out a knife and fork. "Way ahead of you, Ellie."

With that Ellie charged at the Lunch Lady and sent the ghost into the wall with a punch. Ellie then flew forward and landed in front of her opponent. When she went in for another attack Lunch Lady grabbed her by an ankle.

"Can't you see?! This is why you need meat!" the ghost admonished, "You're skin and bones."

Then it was Ellie's turn to be thrown at a wall. Before she hit it she went intangible and instead of getting hurt went halfway through the wall in question. Lunch Lady followed her attack with a barrage of shiskabobs. The ghost got angry again when Ellie evaded them all and grabbed the half-ghost teen. This time, she wound up all the way on the other side of the wall. Ellie came back into the room just in time to save her friends from the ghost and fly away.

"Gee Ellie. Fighting meat monsters and flying through walls. I bet you're exhausted." Sam commented.

"What makes you think something like that?" she asked, half sarcastic and half in denial, "It was a walk in the park."

But it was then made clear that Ellie was just being stubborn when she went unconscious and turned back into her human form once they hit the ground. Tucker and Sam looked at each other, concerned for their best friend. They then carried her all the way to the Fenton household, which was also the base of Ellie's parents' company Fenton Works. They quickly made excuses and brought Ellie to her room without giving Jack or Maddie time to respond.

"Where am I?" Ellie asked when she woke up, "What happened?"

"You passed out so we took you home. It's been four days." Tucker replied.

"Four days?! Seriously?!" Ellie exclaimed, sitting up in shock.

"Don't worry, I'm kidding." Tucker assured, "It's only been a couple of hours."

"Quit it, Tucker!" Sam demanded, "That was the second time your callousness could have killed her!"

"Me?! This only happened because you had to be different and took the meat away!" Tucker retorted, now as angry as the Goth, "And I'm going to get it back."

With that, the tech geek left. Sam quickly followed.

"You're going to have to go through me to change back the menu!" Sam yelled, slamming the door on her way out.

"For crying out loud!" Ellie complained to herself, "The way my luck is running tomorrow's going to be even worse unless things miraculously go back to normal overnight."

True to Ellie's prediction, things had blown out of proportion. Each friend had formed their own protest. Tucker's was pretty much a really weird meat-themed show or concert until he walked onto the stage. Ellie thought that the dancers in hotdog costumes were a little too much. Sam's, on the other hand, was half a more obvious protest and half a gathering of what looked like a bunch of hippies.

When her friends approached at the same time, Ellie voiced her surprise. "How did you each form a protest in a single night?"

"Meat eaters are always ready to fight, Ellie." Tucker claimed, "And our high protein diet gives us the energy we need to be fast."

"Ultra reclyco vegetarians are always ready to protest, and we can work even faster since we don't need to waste time cooking our food."

Ellie tried to gently intervene before an argument started. "… Uh, guys? Don't you think this is sort of extreme?"

Tucker dismissed the comment. "No choice Buddy. You're either with me-"

"Or you're against him!" Sam interrupted.

"So who's side are you on?!" they demanded in unison.

Before Ellie could inform her friends that she was _neutral_, thank you very much, she was interrupted. At the same time, her ghost sense went off and a really strong wind signaled the repeat appearance of the Lunch Lady. There was so much meat that her monster form was huge.

"It's lunch time!" the elderly looking ghost proclaimed.

The crowd, naturally, proceeded to run away screaming. Ellie was grateful. That way, there was a better chance of no one getting hurt. Besides, she really didn't want to be found out. The half-ghost still wasn't sure how her parents would react to the revelation.

"Meat, why have you betrayed?!" Tucker cried.

Ellie was too preoccupied by the imminent threat to roll her eyes at the literal tears. "Guys… now would be an awesome time to make up."

Tucker and Sam, taking the hint, covered Ellie with a hug. She immediately transformed and flew towards the trouble. As soon as Ellie reached the Lunch Lady she was dodging a blow from a giant hand. A single kick sent the ghost to the ground. The next blow sent the teen through a plane. She then flew back and charged right through her opponent, sending the meat flying in an explosion.

"Oh dear, this is such a mess. Are you okay?" Lunch Lady asked when Ellie crawled out of the resulting hole.

"I think I'm fine." Ellie replied as she brushed herself clean.

That wasn't what the ghost wanted to hear. Apparently, Ellie being all right threw the Lunch Lady's 'balanced diet of doom' out of wack. She crated mini meat monsters, which the half ghost took out with ease. One single sweeping kick was all it took. But each half just formed into a new minion. And Ellie's powers chose right then to short out. The minions took advantage of her weakness and carried her off.

That was when Ellie was unexpectedly provided with a solution. The day before, Jazz driving Ellie to school convinced their parents that the older girl was possessed by a ghost. The elder Fentons had just attacked their older daughter at school. Their failure was discouraging for them. About to give up for good, Jack threw the latest tool that failed them and Ellie caught it.

"The Fenton Thermos? I wonder if I can get it to work?" Ellie wondered, and then she transformed and flew off, intangible and invisible, into the ground, shouting, "Thanks for the thermos!"

The last she heard of her family was Jack gloating, both smug and ecstatic at being right. "Ghost Kid! Ha! You were wrong~ ghosts exist~"

"No! Soup's not on today's menu!" Lunch Lady protested when Ellie showed up again.

"Well, it's time for a permanent change!" Ellie retorted, then she unscrewed the thermos. "Please work!"

Luckily enough, the Fenton Thermos _did_ work. The Lunch Lady was suckied into it screaming a denial at the turn of events.

Then Sam came up to the half ghost. "What happened?"

"My parents actually do have successful inventions without a bunch of retries once in a while." was all Ellie said.

Then Ellie's parents showed up. The Fenton Finder directed them right to either Ellie or the ghost she had just trapped in the thermos. Just in case, the teen hid the device behind her back.

"She flew off that way." Ellie lied.

Jack and Maddie were off immediately. Jazz only griped about being back to square one. Which made Ellie wonder what was so bad about ghosts being real. Not that the half ghost would ever _ask_ her older sister, of course.

"You aren't gonna tell them then?" Tucker asked when they were gone.

"Nah, this made me realize that I can do some good with my powers." Ellie replied.

Then Lancer showed up. "There you are!"

Lancer had decided against detention. But they were still in trouble. For punishment, the three of them and Dash were made to clean everything up. Sam and Tucker were both grossed out when Lancer made them pick up their respective culinary nightmares with their bare hands. Ellie couldn't help but giggle at the looks on their faces. She was just happy that the punishment wasn't worse herself.

A few days later, Ellie had finally gained a solid control of her powers. So she didn't having any problems going down to the lab to greet her dad when she got home from school. Jack, to her surprise, had souped up a fishing rod to be able to catch ghosts and had it cast into the portal. He was also wearing a soda hat. After he finished telling Ellie what it was for he handed her the Fenton Ghost Fisher and rushed to the bathroom.

The moment he was up the stairs she had a bite. The line then broke, contrary to what Ellie's father told her. At the same time her ghost sense went off.

"... Damn." She muttered.

A blue dragon with a necklace came through the Fenton Portal.

"I want to go!" It roared, then picked up Ellie, who was trying to sneak out of range. "I have to go!"

"Go where?" Ellie asked, blinking.

Then she transformed and phased out of the grip. Surprised, the dragon transformed into a blonde, red-eyed ghost girl with green skin and a blue dress. She said that she wanted to go to a costumed ball, but her mother wouldn't let her.

"You know, if that dragon form is your idea of a costume I agree with her. People would freak out." Ellie informed her as gently as she could, wanting to avoid a fight.

"Y-you're probably right." the ghost girl sniffed, and then ran off crying, "Oh, this isn't fair!"

"Well, that was weird." Ellie mumbled.

Then Ellie noticed something shiny. It was the necklace the ghost had been wearing. She picked it up, not wanting her parents to see it.

"Oh, well." the teen sighed, "I'll just have to give it back when I see her again. She's probably long gone."

The next day, Ellie brought the ghost's piece of jewelry to school in case she came looking for it. And to prevent Jazz or her parents from finding it. In spite of the encounter, the day started out pretty normal. When Tucker showed up at their table for lunch though, he was a little down. He'd tried to get a date for the dance without any success.

"Strike three, Tuck?" Ellie guessed.

"Try strike three thousand." he complained.

"I don't see the big deal about some stupid dance. I don't need to be asked to the dance to know I'm special. I-" Sam was interrupted by a groan from Ellie, "What?!"

"Paulina." Tucker sighed dreamily.

"Paulina?! Are you serious!" Sam asked incredulously, "Girls like that are a dime a dozen."

"Besides, I didn't think shallow and heartless was your type Tucker." Ellie chimed in.

But Tucker was too busy pulling change out of his pocket to listen. "Is this enough?"

"Ha ha, every funny. But just remember- you can't judge a book by its cover." Sam snarked.

"There's only one way to find out." Tucker said, then he walked off to actually ask her out.

"He can't be serious." Ellie said in disbelief, "He couldn't even get a normal girl to give him the time of day."

The girls watched as their guy friend approached the popular girl and take off his hat. Paulina started laughing, so they couldn't tell if he used a cheesy pick up line or cracked a joke. Tucker's hands seemed to grip his hat harder, meaning he hadn't been given a straight answer. Sam walked over to rescue him. Whatever she said, Ellie noticed that it gave Paulina an idea.\

"You guys done with the chick that makes lemons sweet in comparison?" Ellie asked when they came back, "It'll be time for class soon."

"Do _you_ have anyone in mind for the dance, Ellie?" Tucker asked.

"Nah. Dancing isn't my thing. I might not even go to prom next year." Ellie dismissed with a wave of her hand, "Besides, Amity Park is low on dateable guys."

"You've got that right." Sam agreed, linking arms with her, "Who needs romance or a boyfriend anyway, right Ellie?"

"I, uh, guess so." Ellie muttered, not willing to admit that she just hadn't met someone that she liked that way yet.

The next day was another normal day. Ellie was thinking of just trying to find the girl in the Ghost Zone. Then while Ellie was talking to Tucker about a videogame they both played by her locker, he stopped in the middle of a sentence. She followed his gaze to see Paulina approaching.

"Ellie-?" Tucker said, his question obvious.

"Say no more." Ellie sighed, then she walked away.

A moment later, Dash was headed towards her friend. "Move it Fenton!"

"I'd stay away for now if I were you." Ellie said casually, as if Dash were a friend and she cared (when really she was mocking him without him being smart enough to realize it.), "Do you want Paulina to find out that you're a brute that even bullies girls? Or the team to know you flirted with her when you've already got a date with a cheerleader?"

"Are you blackmailing me?" Dash growled.

"Who said anything like that?" Ellie retorted, then she walked away.

"I hope Dash wasn't giving you any trouble, Miss Fenton?" Mr. Lancer said from behind her.

Ellie turned around. "Huh? Oh, no. I just made sure he didn't ruin Tucker's only real chance at a date for the dance."

"Let me know if you have any more problems, your test grades have been unusually varied recently. And give this to your father."

"Yes, sir!" Ellie said.

Once the teacher was gone, Ellie found herself nearly trampled. When she went intangible, she ended up inside a classmate.

"I didn't know I could do this!" Ellie mumbled, then she got out before she got into an awkward situation.

When Ellie got home, she found her dad in a bad mood from a lack of luck. Luckily, the envelope Mr. Lancer gave her didn't turn out to be bad news. It was just a letter asking him to chaperone the dance.

Then next day, Ellie was telling her friends the news as they ate lunch at the mall.

"So your dad's going to chaperone the dance?" Sam said.

"Apparently it was Jazz's idea." Ellie replied with a shrug, "I'm just glad I won't be there."

"Wait, Ellie, you said you can control people from the inside?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, weird huh?" Ellie answered.

"I'm glad I'm not going." Sam commented, "It means I can avoid the lame dress my parents bought me."

"So no one's asked you, huh?" Tucker guessed.

"Maybe if I was as pretty as Paulina." Sam snarked.

"At least you can get a dress." Ellie pointed out, "Asking my mom or sister to help me shop wouldn't end well."

Then, yet again, the half ghost girl's ghost sense went off at the same time as a crowd ran by screaming.

"Ghost time, huh?" Tucker noted, "Can I finish your fries?"

"Sure." Ellie said, then she transformed and flew off.

She found another dragon. In fact, she wondered if it was just the same one. It certainly didn't _look_ any different.

"Don't I know you?" Ellie asked.

The dragon only tried to roast her.

"Let's try that again." Ellie said, "I'm Ellie Phantom. Who're you?"

The next moment Ellie was crashing into glass.

"In a bad mood." Ellie decided.

The dragon pinned Ellie down. "Must have tee!"

"Tea? Sorry, but I think caffeine is the last thing you need." Ellie said, understandably mistaking what the dragon was talking about, "How about some punch instead?"

Then Ellie landed a blow that sent the dragon flying. She returned to her friends and transformed back to her human form. Sam and Tucker ensured her that they were okay.

"Guys, we have some investigating to do." Ellie told her friends, "I encountered that dragon the other day."

The night of the dance found Maddie helping Jack put on a tie.

"Why am I even wearing this thing?" Jack compained.

"Because Ellie hasn't been to a dance since her freshman year." Maddie reminded her husband, "If we're going to chaperone we need to make sure we don't embarrass her."

"How would we do that?" Jack askied.

"Anything you do that doesn't involve ghosts is great in my book." Jazz gushed excitedly.

"You do know that the two of you are the only reason that I'm going?" Ellie asked, still wondering how she had been talked into going.

"Come on, Ellie, it'll be fun!" Jazz encouraged, "You need to broaden your horizons."

"Fine." Ellie sighed in defeat, ""I need to go to Sam's house, she says she found me a dress."

A while later, Ellie was in Sam's room fixing her jewelry she rarely wore. Tucker was present via video chat. At the same time Sam was researching the dragon. Soon she was sending Tucker a link of the site where she finally found some information.

"'The Amulet of Aragon transforms the wearer into a dragon under great stress.'" Tucker quoted.

""Wait… that was the necklace that weird ghost girl was wearing." Ellie remembered, "I forgot all about it because she hasn't shown up so I didn't notice it was missing from my backpack."

"Uh, guys… I kind of gave it to Paulina when it fell out of Ellie's locker." Tucker said, "Wait… that means I'm going out with a dragon. Oh man, I have the worst luck."

"You sure we can't go hang out at the dance together?" Sam begged after Sam abruptly ended the chat on Tucker with an 'I told you so. Have fun.', "You actually do want to go to the dance, right?"

"Well… It's kinda last minute, and I'm not even dressed…" Sam seemed to hesitate, "How did you know?"

"You actually are a litter girlier than me, against all odds, and your snide remarks were a little too harsh harsh for someone who didn't care." Ellie pointed out, "I'm just sorry I took so long to see it."

"Let me put on the dumb dress I wasn't going to wear!" Sam said, then she raced off to her walk-in closet.

Sam was back in a flash. Her dress was purple and black, and she had somehow already managed to do her hair and makeup. Unlike Ellie, who only liked eyeliner most days and had only added eye shadow, it would have taken the half-ghost much longer than the entire process had taken her friend to get her makeup that nice. All in all, the Goth was much more dressed up than Ellie. Ellie herself was wearing a much more simple but still very nice blue dress.

"You look gorgeous!" Ellie complimented, "You're much prettier than me, Sam."

"Give yourself more credit Ellie!" Sam admonished, "You look great, and your aquamarine jewelry from your grandparents really ties the outfit together. Learning your hair down for a change is the perfect finishing touch, too."

Ellie blushed, but didn't reply. Before long, they were at the dance. Ellie's parents went right for the refreshments. On their way to the refreshments table however, they ran into Mr. Lancer. Then Tucker walked up to the two girls, and he was alone.

"Hey girls! Man, you two look great." Tucker said with a whistle.

"Thanks, Tuck." Ellie said, "Where's Paulina?"

"She ditched me when I said that I needed the necklace back." Tucker said, "I haven't seen her since I offered to get her some punch."

"Then you're alone? Great! You can be Sam's date since she actually wanted to come more than I wanted to stay home." Ellie said, pushing Tucker towards the Goth, "I'll go find Paulina."

It was Sam who found Paulina, not Ellie, and purely by coincidence. She ran into the popular girl in the girl's bathroom. She said that the amulet was Ellie's, and discovered that Paulina only went out with Tucker because she thought he was Sam's boyfriend. Ellie arrived during her own search for Paulina right when the girl had put the amulet on Sam and went to leave and dump Tucker.

"Why you little witch!" Sam growled.

Then Sam transformed into a dragon and flew off. Ellie transformed and flew after her friend. She didn't like Paulina either, but she wouldn't let Sam hurt her. When the half ghost failed to calm her friend down, she ended up avoiding flames.

"Oh come on!" Ellie complained.

In the end, to avoid fighting one of her best friends Ellie had to trap the dragon Sam turned into with the Fenton Fisher. Finally, the amulet was off the Goth and Ellie had her friend back.

"Ugh. Did I have fun at the dance?" Sam asked when she came to.

"Let's just say you had a roaring time." Ellie said, not about to tell Sam that she almost killed Paulina.

When they got back, the dance was almost over. The ghost girl also finally showed up. Ellie talked her into going home in exchange for getting her necklace back, and further trouble was avoided. Sam even got one dance in with Tucker.

"I guess coming to the dance wasn't so bad after all." Ellie laughed.

**End of Chapter**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

**Technology Craze**

Ellie was not a happy camper. She was being kept out late on a school night! Normally, she wouldn't mind too much if it weren't for her curfew meaning she'd be in trouble. But she had a test the next day! She wasn't too worried about the test, but she still needed to study and get a good night's sleep. It didn't help that even though Ellie liked science, biology was her weak point. The teen still thought that taking biology in her Junior year when most high schools place it in students' Freshman or Sophomore year was weird.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!" the latest ghostly nuisance yelled as Tucker sucked him into the Fenton Thermos for Ellie.

"Thanks, guys." Ellie said as she took the thermos from Tucker, "But I need to get home if I want time to finish studying."

"No problem, Ellie." Tucker said as he pulled out his PDA, "According to my schedule we should be done now. You'll be fine."

"Yeah, you always get As in science." Sam added.

"Later!" Ellie called as she went to leave, only to pause after a moment.

"Huh. I feel like I'm being watched." Ellie muttered, but then she shrugged it off and continued on her way home.

The next morning Jazz came down to breakfast screaming in excitement. Genius Magazine had agreed to have Maddie on the cover. Jack seemed put out that it was purely by, for, and about women geniuses. Ellie, on the other hand, didn't really care and just rolled her eyes. Her grades were high too, certainly. But she'd never been one of those straight As students good teachers favored even more than they favored the athletes and other popular kids. She didn't care to be, either, she was happy with the way she was.

"What's the big deal, Jazz?" Ellie asked.

"It's my chance to prove that my parents are normal and not ghost hunting freaks!" Jazz claimed.

"You need to chill." Ellie said in Jack and Maddie's defense, "Mom and Dad may hunt ghosts but they're _not_ freaks."

For some reason, that prompted Jack to bring out a device to 'translate ghost speak'. Ellie left before things got awkward. Her parent's inventions had proved to be useful when her powers weren't enough to stop and catch ghosts. But even so, the teen had come to both hate and dread when her parents came up with another success.

At school, things weren't going very well. Ellie barely managed a B- on the test. For most kids it wasn't a big deal. But for her, it meant her day had taken a downturn.

"So much for the Fentons being a family of geniuses." Tucker said lightly.

"My parents will kill me! A B is average to them!" Ellie moaned.

"Not necessarily." Sam encouraged, "You're still smart- you can boost your grade with an extra credit assignment on this magnificent creature."

Sam had pulled up a web page depicting a purple back gorilla. They were so rare there was only two left. Both were male, so after them that was it for the species. Sam seemed to think it was a chance to get the one at the Amity Park Zoo set free. Apparently, his name was Sampson.

"I don't know, Sam." Ellie said, "I don't even have time for simple extra credit, elt alone to help your animal activist agendas."

Not true." Tucker refuted, "I can help you manage your time better so that you can pull it off. I'll be your time manager."

And so Ellie's fate was sealed. That night found the three friends watching the gorilla from an observatory. Ellie was armed with coffee and lots of energy drinks. All Sampson did was scratch himself. Sam was the only one wide awake. She was hoping they'd learn something no one else had figured out yet. Ellie, on the other hand, was by that point bored and tired.

"We've been here for… how long exactly, Tuck?" Ellie started.

"Six hours." The 'techno geek' said.

"Six hours! I doubt he'll suddenly change his tune." Ellie tried to reason.

Sam wouldn't listen. "You should go and try to communicate with him!"

"Say what now?" Ellie said with a yawn.

Sam, deciding to give up, waved it off. Ellie barely noticed she was so tired. Soon enough, she had slumped in her chair. When she nodded off, though, she almost fell off, which woke the half ghost up.

Ellie stood up. "I'm going to get myself some coffee, Sam. Do you want some?"

"No thanks." Sam said.

"Awe, how cute!" Ellie cooed.

Sam looked at her friend. "What?"

"Look at Tucker.! He's curled up like a little baby." Ellie said, pointing.

"Sam just took a picture. "Nothing like a cutesy picture of a boy for blackmail."

"You're incorrigible, Sam." Ellie laughed.

When Ellie got back, Sam's mouth was covered in green goo. She was also freaking out. Sampson, to the teen's surprise, was out. Then Tucker woke up screaming.

"Gorilla, loose!" the boy said, clearly afraid.

"I got it!" Ellie said.

Then she went ghost and put Sampson back in his cage. The ghost didn't stick around.

"What happened, Sam?" she asked, "You know better, I know you do."

"There was a ghost!" Sam exclaimed.

Ellie and Tucker exchanged a look. They wanted to believe her. But they both knew how she could be when she felt something was wrong. However, she was their friend so for the moment they would remain skeptical yet give her the benefit of the doubt.

"If you say so." Tucker said.

"Well, it's gone now." Ellie said, "There's nothing we can do.

The trio arrived at Ellie's home to find the rest of the Fentons in the living room with a journalist.

"Ellie, look at you!" Maddie exclaimed in concern, "I don't think I like this evening research."

"Mom, we're just a bunch of kids." Ellie reassured, "What harm can we do in a zoo at night when the animals are caged? Anyway, we'll be in my room."

Ellie _should_ have been able to get in some sleep. But before she could open the door to her room her ghost sense went off. She opened the door to find a mechanical ghost with green flames for hair and green eyes waiting.

"Hello Ghost Child." The ghost said, then the next moment Ellie was caught in a net, 'The human ghost child in her natural habitat."

"Whoever you are, what do you want?" Ellie asked.

"I'm Skulker. I collect rare and unique prey." The ghost finally introduced, "and you are that and more, Ghost Child!"

Then Skulker laughed and stepped on her model rocket.

"Would you watch where you step please?! I built that myself, and it didn't come from a kit!" Ellie seethed.

Skulker ignored her. "It's a pity, I thought you'd put up a better fight."

"What is it with guys and violence?!" Ellie asked herself, then she told Skulker, "I'm not about to be treated like a trophy, so if you want a fight, you've got one!"

The fight that ensued was very destructive. It almost destroyed the computer Jazz was keeping in Ellie's room since she had a laptop now. When they ended up in the kitchen, the table _did_ get smashed. Then Skulker grabbed Ellie and phased through the floor.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Ellie asked incredulously.

"I'm taking you to my world where you can be put on display." Skulker said, using a gadget to open the Ghost Portal.

"Put me down you metallic brute! You don't manhandle a lady!" Ellie protested, "I don't mind a fight, but I'm a person not a museum exhibit!"

Skulker ignored her. "Time to put you in your cage."

"No! Let me go!" Ellie practically yelled.

Then Sam showed up. At first, she seemed to be helping Ellie. Then she started a rant about how Sampson must feel and that it's wrong to cage an animal. This took Skulker by surprise, and Ellie almost laughed at how he seemed slightly sheepish. The ghost tried to defend himself, having connected the rant to his quarry. But he just ended up annoyed.

Finally, Ellie used the distraction to kick Skulker away. He almost landed on Tucker, who fell anyway.

"This technology is so sleek, so advanced." Skulker said admiringly as he picked up the boy's PDA and compared it to his older technology, "Hm. I wonder."

Skulker replaced his technology with the PDA. When Tucker protested he pushed the boy away. Then the ghost shot Ellie with a laser gun-like weapon. She hit the wall, her hands ankles cuffed.

"Way to go, Tucker!" Sam scolded, "Now the bad guy is stronger!"

"Hey, I didn't know my PDA was ghost compatible!" Tucker defended.

Then the PDA went off. It was flashing a reminder that Ellie was going to go to the library. A jet pack activated on its own and carried Skulker away against his will. The cuffs disappeared when he did.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"We can figure it out later. I just want some rest." Ellie said, only for her mother to call her.

Maddie was outside of her bedroom door, so Ellie flew up to her room and kept her mother from opening the door. "What is it Mom? I thought you geniuses were busy? I was about to get some sleep."

Ellie only managed to sleep for an hour before she had to go to school. To her delight, it was still enough to keep her going. She even managed a whole class without Skulker coming back. But when she opened her locker, she found herself bound in chains. Tucker's schedule came through and saved her again. Then, a similar incident happened at lunch.

"At least he's regular." Sam commented.

"… Just like a schedule." Ellie realized, "Tuck, what's next?"

When he said gym, a plan started to form. In gym, Ellie had the school's female bully open the locker. True to the half-ghost's guess, the girl got stuck to the wall and Skulker showed up. Then the hunter was blasted to the museum.

"Why's he going there?" Sam asked.

"Tucker's PDA has him stuck to my schedule." Ellie explained, "When that happens he goes to where I was going to go next. So now… it's time for the hunter to be the prey. Let's go."

They grabbed Tucker, and explained on the way. Before long they were at their destination- the zoo. Ellie made sure Sampson was out of harm's way while Sma and Tucker hid themselves under a gorilla costume. True to Ellie's expectations, Skulker showed up after a while.

"Where's the ghost girl?! She should have been here an hour ago, according to this infernal device WHICH I CAN'T REPROGRAM!" Skulker complained, then he turned to the gorilla. "You stupid animal, you were supposed to be the bait!"

Sam and Tucker threw off their cover. Sam defended that Sampson wasn't stupid. Tucker then joked about taking a message.

"You two?! You'll pay for this!" Skulker raged, bringing out multiple guns.

"I don't think so." Tucker retorted, pressing the 'send' icon on his PDA.

The result was instantaneous, and really funny. The PDA Skulker stole acted up again. The hunter was forced to do pushups, and couldn't stop. He shouted, now on his last nerve with the problem.

"I can help you out… _if_ you agree to a deal." Ellie bargained as she flew in, "Or would you like your tech to get a virus next?"

"At this point I'll do anything." Skulker almost pleaded, exceedingly frustrated, "Just don't make it worse!"

"You sure?" Ellie confirmed, "Attack me and you really will end up with a virus."

"I already agreed, damn it! Just get me up!" Skulker shouted.

Ellie grabbed Skulker's arm, flew up a couple of feet, then dropped him. The tech ghost landed on his feet. Skulker had just gained a new respect for his quarry, and he was sick of being blasted off against his will. So he kept his word, and didn't attack.

"What did you have in mind, Ghost Child?" he asked.

"A truce, or whatever you call it. Promise to stop hunting me and I'll spar with you any time that isn't particularly inconvenient."

"Why would I agree to something like that?" Skulker asked, surprised at Ellie's lack of greed and incredulous that he didn't get anything out of it.

"If after a while you've stuck to your end of the deal, I'll make Tucker show you how to reprogram the PDA."

"Very well, Ghost Child. You have yourself a bargain." Skulker agreed as he activated his pack, "Until next time!"

"Let's go home. It's not like a B is a bad grade." Ellie said.

"What about your parents?" Sam asked.

Ellie shrugged it off. "It's fine. I can always figure out another solution."

Suddenly, Sampson was so close to them that without it being awkward all three could tell something obvious no one else had noticed before.

"'Resident high school student finds out the resident purple back gorilla Sampson is really a Delilah. Amity Park Zoo under accusations from environmentalists of letting fear lead to neglecting to care properly for its larger animals.'" Mr. Lancer quoted the next day in class, "Why didn't any of the zoo keepers bother to check if it was a boy or a girl?"

"Maybe they tried to respect her privacy or didn't know that gorillas are generally peaceful if they're left alone?" Ellie guessed half jokingly. 'Why is an English teacher covering for a science teacher?'

"By the way, Miss Fenton, the science teacher finished grading your report. Here's your improved test grade."

"I did it!" Ellie cheered, seeing that she now had an A- instead of a B-.

"Good thinking on ding a report instead, Miss Fenton. I expect as much effort in my own class." Mr. Lancer said.

A couple of weeks later, Ellie walked into the kitchen for a snack. Only to do a spit take. Dash was at the table, being tutored by Jazz. That made the teen think that her friends were the only ones who listen to her. Ellie had complained about Dash multiple times in the past, after all.

"What's he doing here?!" Ellie demanded.

"Watch it, Fentina!" Dash threatened.

"Trying to prove that it's possible to tutor the seemingly untutorable." Jazz said distractedly, "And, Dash, pay attention! You're disproving my theory!"

"I'll be going now, then." Ellie excused, going down to the lab while she could escape.

Ellie was going to explore the Ghost Zone, but soon found her plan postponed. Her father was in the basement/lab with his latest invention. This one was the 'Fenton Weasel', designed to suck up spectral energy and spit it out and into the Ghost Zone. Then Jack tried to demonstrate how it worked. Rather than what the dramatic and often child-like had expected, it sucked up a bunch of papers and the Fenton Thermos, the latter stopping it up. Jack promptly went to grab something he called the 'Fenton Unlodger' to get it free before Ellie could point out the reverse button he had designed.

"Oh, well." Ellie sighed, then she pressed it herself.

The Fenton Thermos flew out and hit the 'on' button of the Ghost Portal. It opened, and out came a green-skinned male ghost with really long white hair (for a guy), black sun glasses, and a blue and green trench-coat. He was also wearing green gloves.

"Child, you freed me, Technus, ghost master of science and electrical technology." The ghost stated, seemingly thanking Ellie.

Ellie went ghost just in case he was hostile. (Luckily, he just seemed to talk a lot and have an annoying voice.)

"Technology? You'd get along great with my friend Tucker." Ellie commented, "If you're half as good with things like computers as he is the two of you could make millions if you work together."

"That's a great idea! When can I meet him?" Technus asked.

"Wait for me outside the house. I'll meet you and take you to his house." Ellie told him, turning back into a human.

"Great! Don't keep me waiting Ghost Girl." Technus said, then he took off.

The next day, Ellie was at the Nast Burger with her friends. Ellie didn't ever get any actual food there because she didn't trust a place with the word 'nasty' in the name, but like most other teens it was her and her friends' usual hangout. Sam watned to go to the amusement park next weekend. Tucker vetoed the idea though, citing a lack of funds.

"If you're broke, I can lend you the money." Sam offered.

"No way." Tucker refused, "'Lend' means you expect payback, which is also out of reach. Right, Ellie?"

"Yeah, but I'm not the one who blew all of my allowance on two PDAs." Ellie said.

"Ellie, you're not helping!" Tucker complained.

Then Dash showed up. He gave Ellie- and _just_ Ellie- an invitation to his party the upcoming weekend. Then with a threat, he left while Ellie tried to refuse the invite since it excluded her tow best friends.

"Damn. I don't want to go! It wouldn't be fun without you guys." Ellie complained.

"Don't worry, Ellie. I'm sure it'll work out." Tucker assured.

It turned out to be more difficult than Tucker thought. Suddenly, all of the teens associated with the 'In Crowd' acted like Ellie was their friend. Ellie herself quickly got so annoyed that she had taken to going invisible while out of class to avoid them. Her friends, however, seemed to think she was overreacting.

"You can't hide forever, Ellie." Sam said.

"Yah, you'll have to face the music eventually." Tucker chimed in.

If Ellie were violent, the almost-cheerful tone that could usually be found in Tucker's voice even when he was serious would make her wish she could get away with punching him. Unfortunately though, she knew he had a point. Repressing her frustration, the half-ghost sighed.

"I know, I know. Until then, how're you getting along with Technus, Tuck?" Ellie said.

Efficiently distracted, the boy of the group went into a talk on what he'd learned from the ghost and the ideas they had come up with. This made Sam glare at Ellie for avoiding the subject. The Goth would be annoyed until she forced Ellie into a proper conversation on the matter, most likely. Unfazed, the half ghost just grinned sheepishly. She would already have to face Jazz for wasting the redhead's attempt at improving her school situation. Compared to the mother hen Ellie's sister usually was, Sam was about as intimidating as a newborn kitten.

Wednesday was a very awkward day the week before the party. First, when Dash tried to give Ellie instructions about the party Ellie got herself into a jam by saying she'd be out of town. She only got in the clear because she didn't have to tell her parents or ask them for money. Then, when Ellie got home, she discovered that her parents brought hot dogs to life. Jack and Maddie ignored the problem in favor of getting into an argument about the junk in the shed. That spiraled into Maddie offering to pay Ellie, who knew a lot of kids with a bigger allowance even though their parents had less money than hers, to get rid of said stuff from the shed.

"Why deos my life have to be so crazy?!" Ellie complained once she was alone.

"What's wrong, Ghost Girl?" Technus asked.

"… Technus?! Why are you here?" Ellie asked, startled.

"I, Technus, wanted to thank you for introducing me to your tech savvy friend!" said technology-obsessed ghost declared, "Now answer the question."

"Well, it's like this." Ellie started, explaining the latest mess she had found herself in.

"I see. I, Technus, do not like bullies." he said when she was done, "Do you want me to prank the party goers for you?"

"But my sister's supposed to be there too!" Ellie protested.

But Technus left before she could do more than talk him into leaving Jazz out of it. Not wanting to risk a headache, Ellie sighed then let it go. Thinking it over again, it wasn't like she cared so long as her sister was all right.

Saturday rolled around. Ellie had, after some convincing from Tucker, decided to get rid of her dad's junk by selling it. Naturally, he received a cut of the profits. When they were done, Sam invited them to her house.

"Cool! I'm looking forward to it." Ellie said cheerfully.

But that night things didn't work out as planned. Ellie was talking with Jazz when their dad came asking about the stuff Ellie sold. Which meant she had to make up an excuse and disappear fast since it was too late to use hanging out with her friends as an excuse because everyone expected it to be just Sam and Tucker that night. Left with no other place she could escape to and having wanted to explore it anyway, Ellie went to the Ghost Zone.

"Oh, great…. Now I'm lost." Ellie grumbled to herself an hour and a half later.

Ellie had been wandering aimlessly since she entered the Ghost Zone. She was pretty sure that she had even managed to pass three different places four times each in the span of forty minutes. One of them was, to Ellie's surprise, a library. At the moment, the half ghost was wandering through a spot of the Ghost Zone that had random green gears here and there. Then, she reached a tower.

"_Now_ where am I?" Ellie wondered out loud.

"You're outside of my home right at the moment, Ellie Fenton." a voice said from behind her.

Which, naturally, made her jump and turn around. "Eep!"

It was a male ghost, a young man. He had blue skin and red eyes. The visible portion of his outfit was a purple shirt with a clock on it and a purple cloak of a darker and deeper shade. His hair was covered by his cloak's hood, but Ellie could see a glimpse of silver locks. The half ghost found herself blushing, and she wasn't sure if it was out of embarrassment because he was chuckling in amusement or if it was because how, unlike any human boy she'd seen, how cute she inexplicably found him. (She may only be half human, but she realized that finding a ghost better looking than a human was still strange.)

"My apologies. I didn't mean to frighten you." he said.

"I was just surprised." Ellie waved off, "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

"I am Clockwork master of time." he introduced himself, "One might claim that I know everything, so it's only natural that I know your name."

(What Ellie didn't know, of course, was that to get his would-be employers off of his back he usually claimed that he _did_ know everything.)

"'Master of Time'? What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Time is like a parade." Clockwork explained, "there are those like you, who move with the flow of time and take part in the parade. There are some who watch the parade from the sidelines. I, however, watch the parade from above, and see every twist and turn the parade may or may not take."

Ellie blinked for a moment.

"I don't know if that's really cool or if it sounds like a major headache." she said, thinking of Doctor Who.

"A council of sorts that think themselves my employers certainly make my job difficult." Clockwork conceded, "But I see it more as a job that provides free entertainment."

"Entertainment?" Ellie asked, curiosity clear in her voice.

"Follow me and I'll show you." Clockwork said, turning away from Ellie to lead her inside.

Normally, Ellie would have remembered the standard warning to kids about trusting strangers. But she had found that if she bothered to listen to it she had an instinct that warned her when she couldn't trust a ghost no matter what. Unlike people, who if good enough an actor to fool you could stab you in the back. And so she knew that she could trust Clockwork.

"Impressive. This is really cool." Ellie commented, "But I bet the draft would be terrible if the Ghost Zone worked like the human world does."

"This is what I want to show you." Clockwork said when they reacted a large gear, "Look. This is what your friends are doing at the moment."

"… Sam and Tucker? Whoa, this is like TV. " Ellie looked with interest, "Ha! I always thought Sam's parents were too stuck up to not be loaded!"

"Tucker was much more surprised." Clockwork informed the teen, showing Ellie what happened when the tech geek found out their Goth friend was rich.

"… Cool. Hey, can you show me Dashiel Baxter's party?" Ellie asked, "Since I couldn't talk Technus out of party crashing I might as well enjoy the show."

"I see no harm in letting you see the present." Clockwork acquiesced.

Ten minutes later found Ellie laughing hysterically. The technology controlling ghost hadn't shown himself or, like he promised, hurt anybody. But he had made the technology go nuts. When they figured that nothing was wrong with the circuit breaker and that it wasn't a human doing any of the mischief, they unknowingly jumped to the correct conclusion that it was a ghost. The mass of teens all ran around screaming. Some were even acting little kids or crying for their mommies.

Ellie wiped a tear from her eye. "Ah, that was great. Thanks, Clockwork."

"Think nothing of it. But I believe your parents are expecting you home soon." Clockwork said.

"I'm never going to make it home in time for curfew! I'm so grounded!" Ellie panicked.

"That isn't a problem." Clockwork assured, bringing up Ellie's house on the gear, "You see, this can also act as a portal."

"Thank you, Clockwork!" Ellie exclaimed, "Can I visit you if I ever find this place again?"

Clockwork handed Ellie a map. "This will show you how to get anywhere you've already been."

"Thanks, Clockwork! See you soon!" Ellie said.

She kissed his cheek in thanks and was off. Clockwork put a hand to his cheek and smiled. It wasn't often the Master of Time was caught off guard. Which was exactly what Danielle Fenton did. But in his opinion, that had been a very pleasant surprise.

Monday, Ellie, Sam, and Tucker were comparing how the remainder of the weekend went. Sam and Tucker seemed both amused and surprised about Clockwork. Ellie, in turn, grinned pseudo-apologetically and spouted off one of her witty retorts in response to Tucker's reaction to her lack of surprise at Sam's parents being rich and Sam's resigned but annoyed reaction to Ellie's reasons for not being surprised.

Did you ever get in trouble for getting rid of all of your dad's stuff?" Tucker asked.

"Nah. Jazz stepped in at the last minute and convinced Dad that nothing could make me toss something important to him. He's convinced the government or a ghost took it." Ellie waved off, "Mom even gave me extra money for finding a non-wasteful method of getting rid of the usable stuff."

"So on another note; Ellie did you ever convince Technus not to prank the party?" Sam asked.

This only sent Ellie into a giggle fit. That had been a show and a half. The half ghost was determined to ask how the ghost made the sprinklers spray dye instead of water after Tehcnus set off the smoke alarm. (She also wondered why a household had something like fire sprinklers in the first place. Weren't potential fires what fire extinguishers were for?)

"You didn't, did you?" Sam dead-panned.

"N-nope. I haven't seen him since he offered to do it." Ellie replied, still giggling.

Sam just sighed as Ellie relayed to Tucker what Technus had done with relish. Some things would never change no matter which universe or timeline, as Clockwork would attest to. Ellie's love of harmless/non-violent mischief aimed at people she didn't like was one of them.

**End of Chapter**


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